Inside a Warm Victorian Home

Antiques dealer Sarah Anderson relied on the tools of her trade, winging low-key drama from timeworn textures and patinas. Consider her California home proof that so-called "cool" neutrals can be as cozy as saturated hues.

Warming Trend

Warming Trend

Sarah Anderson had long admired her neighbor's house—a black-and-white Gothic Victorian in Sonoma, California, that anchors a sprawling plot of land. But when the antiques dealer heard the place had been sold four years ago, she felt a sudden and surprising grief. "I didn't realize how badly I wanted to live there, and I'd already missed my chance." Then fate intervened, and the purchase fell through. Sarah's husband, Darius, suggested they go see the property, and, she says, "My dream home became his dream home."

In this photo: In the breakfast nook, weathered oak benches provide seating at a vintage oak florist's table, topped with zinc. The cast-iron chandelier dates to the 1920s; the distressed pine cabinet, by BoBo, only looks old. Sarah had all the walls misted with a custom mix of watered-down paint. The trim here (and throughout) is painted Swiss Coffee by Benjamin Moore.

Breakfast Nook

Breakfast Nook

After purchasing the home, the couple discovered that, in order to obtain earthquake insurance, they'd need to replace the house's foundation. So they spent a year living in a finished barn out back, while taking the walls down to the studs, carefully removing moldings and windows, then just as carefully reinstalling everything. "Old places have soul," Sarah explains, "and we didn't want to lose any of that."

In this photo: Old maple bread boards, made in the Loire Valley, share shelf space with fine Astier de Villatte porcelain in the breakfast nook's cabinet.